In surgical procedures, it is important to minimize trauma to the patient and damage to tissue to facilitate patient recovery. One way to accomplish this is to minimize the size of the incision for the surgical procedure and minimize the cutting of tissue to access the target anatomy. A number of retractors are available that are designed to expand a small surgical incision and provide access to a surgical site. Such retractors typically include two or more retractor blades that separate to expand the incision and create an access channel through which to conduct the surgical procedure. One problem with such retractors is that the retractors generally require a bed-mounted arm to maintain the retractor in place during surgery. Such retractor arms are frequently cumbersome to use, are often in the way of the surgeon and operating room staff, and generally are not effective at maintaining the retractor in place.